Mortgage jobs surge

Need even more proof that the industry is alive and well?

Employment in the mortgage industry is up, and that trend is expected to continue for years to come.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry added 1,100 full-time, nonbank mortgage employees in September – raising the total of employed mortgage professionals up to 299,800.

The stats represent impressive growth that carries on the trend of monthly gains reported each month since the beginning of the year.

And that trend is expected to continue.

“Prospects for loan officers should improve over the coming decade as lending activity rebounds from the recent recession. Job opportunities should be good for those with lending, banking, or sales experience,” the Bureau of Labor and Statistics says in its occupational outlook handbook. “In addition, some firms require loan officers to find their own clients, so candidates with established contacts and a referral network should have the best job opportunities.”

Loan officer jobs, specifically, are expected to increase to 319,800 by 2022 – an increase of 8%.

The mortgage jobs data was just a small part of the optimistic jobs data released Friday.

The country added 271,000 jobs in October, according to the Bureau.

It was the biggest jobs surge all year, and it exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The jobless rate fell from 5.1% to a seven-year low of 5% and average hourly earnings over the past 12 months climbed by the most since 2009.

“It’s a solid labor market,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, told Bloomberg. “The report is pretty good across the board. December is now a very high likelihood for the Fed to hike rates.”

The jobs data was the latest economic puzzle piece released, and it’s one that points to the growing chance of a Fed rate hike in December.